March marked the fourth year that Afghan girls were told their minds are still unwanted, and that education for any female over 12 was still impossible. Their tears and acts of self-harm are unheeded. International attention is now aimed at papering over the problem.
In the same month, in New York, the 69th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) unfortunately was once again the scene of women of Afghanistan explaining the situation of their sisters trapped inside the country and unable to appear in person, victims of institutionalized gender-based violence, without support and protection.
This is a stark contrast to the image presented during the U.S. and international community’s intervention in Afghanistan after 2001, which was marketed in part as a mission to protect the rights and dignity of Afghan women. In those days CSWs were filled with stories of success, showcasing Afghan women’s capabilities to compete on international stages and win prestigious awards, one after another. The international community used Afghan women to put a positive face to their war efforts in Afghanistan.
We have both attended many international meetings focused on Afghan women – one of us as a woman from Afghanistan and the other as a former U.S. diplomat who served twice at the embassy there between 2009 and 2018. The contrast between past narratives of empowerment and the current cries for help is deeply personal.
We saw firsthand the dramatic transformation that investment in human rights brought to Afghan society. Women could work, study, and challenge oppressive customs in court. Democracy began to take hold after the excitement of the first presidential and parliamentary elections, fostering values like human rights, gender equality, and diversity across governments, schools, and workplaces. One of the authors, Nazila, joined a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting human rights and gender equality. Taking on this role as a young woman gave her the unprecedented opportunity to travel freely across the country and advocate for Afghan women. With every trip, she witnessed tangible progress in women’s participation in society.
The era of gender apartheid, social injustice, and oppression was slowly disappearing, thanks to the determined efforts of both Afghans and Americans committed to this transformation.
But in 2021, we both watched in sorrow as that future was stolen from Afghan women overnight. The Taliban’s return erased decades of progress made by Afghans and Americans, as the new regime reinstated a legal framework designed to eliminate women’s presence in public life. Over the past four years, the Taliban have systematically imposed severe restrictions on Afghan women, stripping away their rights in every aspect – from education and employment to freedom of movement and participation in daily activities. Whenever the world thought the situation could not deteriorate further, the Taliban devised new ways to deepen their oppression.
In August 2024, the Taliban introduced a law under the banner of “promoting virtue and eliminating vice,” solidifying and adding to the litany of restrictions on women. Women are required to conceal themselves completely. Even voices are considered intimate and women are therefore prohibited from being heard in public through singing, reciting, or reading aloud. Women are forbidden from making eye contact with men who are not family members.
The Taliban’s policies are not merely oppressive; they threaten the survival and well-being of countless Afghan women and their communities.
In December 2024, the Taliban banned women and girls from attending both public and private medical institutes. This devastating directive comes as Afghanistan faces a severe humanitarian crisis. Maternal mortality rates are surging as the age of brides falls, making more births high-risk, while over a third of the population lacks access to healthcare and malnutrition levels soar. The exclusion of women from medical education will have catastrophic consequences.
What international avenues exist to support Afghans, who – even in the face of serious repression – advocate for their own rights? Unfortunately, only a few tools such as sanctions and non-recognition of the Taliban regime are still in place, and some appear ready to give even those away. In mid-February, the United Nations introduced a proposed “Comprehensive Approach for Afghanistan.” Unfortunately, the proposal is similar to the failed “Doha Agreement” signed by the first Trump administration in February 2020. The pathway suggested consists of an engagement framework that links tangible “steps” to goals held by both sides.
There are two key weaknesses: first, the ludicrous inequality of negotiating items.
The Taliban’s obligations, such as acceding to Afghanistan’s international obligations, are long-term, complex, and enormous undertakings needing the reversal of hundreds of decrees, laws, and other actions, and are fully reversible, as would be similarly complex actions to comply with counterterrorism requirements or inclusive governance. But on the international community’s side, giving up Afghanistan’s U.N. seat, unfreezing its assets, or abrogating U.N. sanctions are swift and irreversible actions that threaten the last remaining areas of international leverage.
Second, there is a lack of transparency or formal process of consultation with Afghans. In fact, in one presentation document for the plan shared with various countries, non-Taliban Afghans are referred to as “stakeholders” – on a par with issue-specific experts in terrorism or banking. The structure of discussions therefore continues to envision the international community in the driver’s seat to negotiate on behalf of Afghans, rather than the actual terms of the Special Assessment, which envisioned international support for an intra-Afghan dialogue preparatory to a national political dialogue.
Where would this leave Afghan women? Even more powerless than before, with additional repression given the apparent blessing of the world community. Weak and inconsistent responses signal that Afghan women’s rights are secondary to geopolitical interests. Despite international commitments to human rights, the absence of meaningful enforcement allows regimes like the Taliban to operate with impunity. We urge the United Nations to bring Afghan women to the negotiating table, to be their own advocates and create their own destiny, before it is too late.